Combination footstool, ladder, seat, and storage chest



E. J. KNIPPER April 15, 1952 COMBINATION FOOT STOOL, LADDER, SEAT, AND STORAGE CHEST I Filed Aug. 5, 1949 INVENTOR. MIHL/ZLWW s lllul T1 6 =3 r w IIHIIMH 5 a a. u a V a D a n 7: 5 an Patented Apr. 15, 1952 COMBINATION FOOTSTOOL, LADDER, SEAT, AND STORAGE CHEST Edward J. Knipper, Bakersfield, Calif.

Application August 5, 1949, Serial No. 108,692

3 Claims. 1

My invention relates ingeneral to a footstoolladder as an article of furniture which will be pleasing in appearance and will harmonize with the type of furniture generally used in living rooms, game rooms, or other suitable places and which will, at the same time, be so sturdily constructed that the hazards and insecurity inherent in folding and adjustable furniture are minimized and greater safety in operation and use is obtained.

-An important object of my invention is to provide a foldable combination ladder in which the levels of the steps above the ground surface line are of easy gradations but amply proportioned to reach the desired elevation.

Another object of my invention is toprovide a combination ladder in which the parts in contact with the floor or other supporting surface are widely separated and arranged for non-sliding and solidly gripping holding action.

Another object of my invention is to provide a combination footstool-ladder and chest in which. when used as a footstool the ladder and chest parts are folded together and concealed and the device becomes a durable article of furniture of neat and pleasing appearance.

An important object of my invention is to provide a combination footstool, ladder, seat and chest in which the component parts are of sturdy lightweight construction and easily handled and manipulated in conversion from one use to another.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which can be readily manufactured from many different types of wood or similar suitable materials and which wil be economical in cost, both of manufacture and of repairing parts subject to wear and tear.

Additional objects and advantages will be ap-- 1 parent from the following description considered in conjunction with the accompanying sheet of drawings or from both as supplements of each Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the parts of my invention disposed for use as a seating device.

Figure 4 is an end view showing the location and means of access to the enclosed chest portion of my invention.

Referring now in detail to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 wherein for purposes of illustration are shown preferred embodiments of my invention, the numeral 5 indicates the base supporting section of my device to which is hingedly attached the foldable section 6.

The base supporting section 5consists of a box structure provided with a bottom plate ,1, end

walls 8 and 9 and high side wall It and low side wall H.

The top edges of end walls 8 and 9 are sloped at an angle to the horizontal base line and side wall 10 coincides in height with the high corners of end walls 8 and 9 and side wall I I coincides in height with the low corners ofend walls 8 and 9. In the lower portions of end walls 8 and 9 and side walls l0 and H are located the corner posts l2, I3, [4 and I5 formed by cutout recesses l6, l1, I8 and I9.

Within this box structure an inner lining composed of side Wall 2| and end walls 22 and 20 is placed with its top edges disposed in a plane parallel to the horizontal floor linei Covering the top of the box structure of base section 5 plates 21 and 28 are hingedly secured to the end walls 8 and 9 by dowels 23, 24, 25 and 26. Depending upon the purpose for which my device is used plate 21 is both a cover for the storage chest formed by the box structure and a seat suitable for supporting children or adults; plate 28 is also both a back rest for the seat and one of the steps for the step ladder.

Collapsible braces 29 and 33 are secured to plate 28 and end Walls 8 and 9 to limit the movement and to act as back rest supports of plate 28. In the end walls 22 and 23 are formed recesses 3| and 32 within which nest braces 29 and 35- when plate 28 is in the folded down position.

The foldable section 6 consists of a box structure provided with a bottom plate 33, end Walls 34 and 35 and high side wall 36 and low side wall 31. The bottom edges of the end walls 34 and 35 are sloped at an angle to the horizontal floor line and side wall 36 corresponds in height with the high corners of end walls 34 and 35 and side wall 37 corresponds in height with the low corners of end walls 34 and 35.

Hinges 38 and 39 connecting the base section 5 with the foldable section 6 are located at the jointure of low side wall II and high side wall 36. In order that both sections rest securely on the supporting surface when in the unfolded position it is necessary that the height of the low side wall I l correspond and be equal to the height of the high side wall 36. A latch 40 or other suitable locking means is provided at the jointure of side walls Ill and 31.

The top edges of end walls 34 and 35 and side walls 3E and 3! are parallel with the horizontal floor line and hand holes 4i and A2 are provided in the end walls 34 and 35.

In the open top box structure of foldable section 6 formed by end walls'34and 35 and side walls 36 and 31 is located a cushion 43 provided with fasteners 44 adapted to snap securely on fasteners 46 which are attached to bottom plate 33. In the upper portions of side walls 36 and 31 and end walls 34 and 35 are located the corner posts 41, G8, 49 and 50 formed by the cut out recesses 51 and 52.

Non-slipping rubber, grip pads 53 are secured to the bottom of base section corner posts l2, l3, l4 and I5 and similar rubber pads 53 are secured to the tops of corner posts 47, 48, 49 and 58 of the top foldable section 6.

In the utilization of my invention for its several purposes a number of operations are required to manipulate the parts into their proper converted relationship: for use as a footstool both the top and bottom sections are folded together and when locked with the latch the footstool may be carried as a unit from one place to another by means of the hand holes.

If it is desired to use my device as a step ladder the latch is unlocked and the upper section folded over 180 degrees .until therubber pads on the corner posts of the upper section contact the mounting surface the bottom plate 33,.thus forming an initial low step leading to thesecnd or higher step.

If it is desired to use my device as a rest or seat {or children or other persons the top .plate covering the storage chest formed inlthe base section is raised to its open position and supported as a back rest by the collapsible side braces while the lower plate remains in place and functions as a seat.

In the final utilization of my device as astorage chest, entrance is gained by raising the lower plate or seat immediately covering the storage area and resting it back against the surface of tht previously elevated back rest.

It will be understood that while the form of my combination footstool, ladder, seat and storage chest herein illustrated and described is to be considered as a preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself to the precise constructions as disclosed, but reserve the right to resort to and substitute various modifications and changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit/of my invention or the scope of my claimsas described and indicated above and in the drawings and the following claims.

-Having thus described my invention, Iclaimz.

l. A combination footstool, ladder; seat and storage chest comprising: a box-shaped base section; a storage chest formed within said boxshaped base section and having a cover secured thereon; an open top upper box-shaped section hingedly attached to said bas section; a cushion secured within said upper box-shaped section supported on a bottom plate therein; said cushion and said upper box-shaped section, when folded on top of said box-shaped base section adapted to form a footstool; said hingedly attached upper box-shaped section adapted to fold over 180 degrees; said upper box-shaped section when folded over 180 degrees positioning said bottom plate below the chest cover to form an initial step and said cover of said box-shaped base section adapted to form both a further step of a ladder structure and a seat.

' 2-. An article of furniture comprising in combination: a footstool, a storage chest, a seat, and a ladder structure, comprising a lower section and an upper section provided in said footstool,

a storage chest formed in said lower section, a cushion attached to said upper section, a step attached to said lower section, a back rest attached to said-lower section, non-slipping pads attached to the bottom of said lower section, non-slipping pads attached to the top of said uppersection, hinged means connecting said lower section to said upper section whereby said upper section is swung through 180 degrees and said back rest is converted into a top step and said step attached to said lower section is converted into a bottom step of said ladder structure.

3. As an article of furniture, a foldable footstool comprising: a base supporting section, a chest formed within said base supporting section, a primary hinged plate attached to the base section and covering said chest, a secondary hinged plate attached to said base section and resting on the toplof said chest, collapsible braces attached to said secondary plate and said base section and adapted to support said sec ondary plate whenconverted into aback rest, an upper sectionlhingedly attached to said base supporting section, an open topped chest formed within said upper section, a cushion secured in said open topped chest, hand grips formed in said open topped chest, corner posts formed at the bottom portion of said base supporting section, corner posts formed at the top portion of said upper section, said hinges located a distance from .the bottomof said corner posts of said base supporting section equal to the distance from the top of said corner posts of said upper section whereby said upper section is adapted to rotate through an angle of 180 degrees and bringsaid cushion and the upper ends of said corner posts of said upper section into a horizontal plane corresponding with the horizontal base plane of said corner posts formed at the bottom of said base supporting section, all

' file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 224,253 Waller Feb. 3, 1880 918,706 Sanders Apr. '20, 1909 2,357,214

McDole Aug. 29, I944 

